After Bharti Singh, Her Husband Harsh Also Arrested By NCB

Mumbai: A day after the arrest of comedian Bharti Singh, her husband Harsh Limbachiya was also arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau on Sunday following seizure of drugs from their house here, NCB officials said. On Saturday, Singh was arrested by the NCB after seizure of ganja (cannabis) from her house in suburban Andheri, they said.

Now, her husband has also been arrested, NCB’s Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede said. Both Singh and her husband are accused of consuming ganja, another official said.

The couple along with two others arrested in the case would be produced before a court here after their medical examination, he said. A case has been registered against the accused under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, he added.

Acting on a tip-off, the NCB on Saturday conducted search at Singh’s office and residence as part of its probe into the alleged drug use in the entertainment industry, and seized 86.5 gm of cannabis during the search, an official from the probing agency earlier said. “Both Ms Bharti Singh and her husband Harsh Limbachiya accepted consumption of ganja,” an NCB release earlier said.

The quantity allegedly seized from Singh’s possession is considered as “small quantity” under the Act, as against “commercial quantity”, an NCB official said. Up to 1,000 gm of ganja is considered small quantity, which attracts jail term up to six months and/or fine of Rs 10,000. Possession of commercial quantity — 20 kg or more — can attract up to 20 years in jail. For the quantity in between, the punishment can be as much as 10 years in jail.

“Singh’s name had cropped up during the interrogation of a drug peddler,” the official said. She has appeared in a number of comedy and reality shows on TV and also hosted a few such shows.

The NCB has been probing the alleged drug use in Bollywood after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June this year on the basis of WhatsApp chats involving drugs. The central agency earlier arrested Rajput’s girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, some employees of the late film star and a few others under various sections of the NDPS Act.

Rhea Chakraborty and some other accused are currently out on bail.

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